Fireball

Residents of Trollskull Alley are shaken by a loud whoosh, rattling windows, and the screams of city folk. A fireball spell has just detonated in the street, and the neighborhood is thrown into chaos. As members of the City Guard, the City Watch, and the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors rush to the scene, the characters are afforded a chance to assess the damage and investigate further. This incident sets into motion the main plot and puts the characters on a collision course with those who want to find and claim Lord Neverember’s hidden cache of gold.

The fireball goes off early in the morning, at a time when all the characters are in Trollskull Manor. Read aloud the following text to set the scene:

Windows rattle as the roar of an explosion fills Trollskull Alley. Charred bodies and anguished screams fly through the air. A thick cloud of acrid smoke billows outward from the blast, which seems to have occurred right outside your door.

Let the players tell you what their characters are doing at this moment and how they react to the explosion. Those who want to guess the nature of the explosion can, with a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check, conclude that someone just cast a fireball spell outside.

What’s Happening Here?

Dalakhar, a rock gnome spy working for Lord Dagult Neverember, was on his way to see the characters when the fireball went off, killing him and ten other people. The gnome is important because he was carrying the Stone of Golorr (see appendix A)-the key to finding Lord Neverember’s hidden cache of gold. Hounded by agents of the Zhentarim, the Xanathar Guild, and Bregan D’aerthe, Dalakhar was unable to escape from Waterdeep with the artifact, so he planned to entrust it to the characters briefly, for surely the folk who rescued Lord Neverember’s son could keep it safe where he could not.

By the time the events of this chapter have played out, the Stone of Golorr has changed hands a few times and the characters have learned more about the big picture-though they still have a long chase ahead of them.

Zhents Caught in the Act

Three members of the Black Network, including the Zhent assassin Urstul Floxin (see appendix B), were close to nabbing Dalakhar when they were caught in the blast. Of the three, only Urstul survived. Though he was wounded, he was able to pluck the Stone of Golorr from Dalakhar’s pocket before fleeing the scene. While other survivors were coming to their senses, Urstul stumbled through the smoke and haze and eventually made his way back to Gralhund Villa a short distance away.

House Gralhund

The heads of the Gralhund noble family, Yalah Gralhund and her husband, Orond Gralhund, are providing coin and shelter to Urstul and his fellow Zhents in exchange for the promise of getting their fair share of the hidden cache of gold. But the Gralhunds aren’t willing to put their trust entirely in the Black Network; they sent out their own agent to shadow the Zhents, eliminate Dalakhar, and obtain the Stone of Golorr on their behalf. Yalah gave the would-be assassin a necklace of fireballs with instructions on how and when to use it. When it seemed as though Dalakhar might give Urstul Floxin the slip, this agent hurled one of the beads from the necklace to stop the gnome in his tracks.

The Gralhunds' assassin is a nimblewright (see appendix B) that escaped from the House of Inspired Hands, the temple of Gond in the Sea Ward, a month ago. The construct hitched a ride on House Gralhund’s coach. Yalah Gralhund befriended it, offered it shelter, and used it as a servant until she and her husband found a more sinister use for it.

The incident with the fireball has strained the alliance between the Gralhunds and the Black Network. Urstul Floxin is refusing to hand over the Stone of Golorr until he speaks to his secret master, Manshoon. Meanwhile, the Gralhunds are weighing the risks of betraying and murdering Urstul in their own house. If the characters' investigation goes well, they’ll blunder into this den of snakes before the chapter is done.

Unraveling the Plot

During their investigation, the characters should learn who or what cast the fireball (a nimblewright), why the attack was committed (to steal the Stone of Golorr), and where the stone was taken (Gralhund Villa). If the investigation stalls, friendly NPCs might step forward to help in exchange for compensation. One such figure is Vincent Trench, the private detective, who lives in Trollskull Alley (see chapter 2, area T5). The characters can also consult with friendly factions such as the Harpers.

The Crime Scene

In the wake of the explosion, people emerge from their houses and shops to survey the devastation. The fireball didn’t set any buildings ablaze, but it left eleven people dead:

• One elderly female human who was out for a walk (no one recognizes her)
• Two cloaked male humans (Zhentarim sellswords) clad in leather armor with sheathed longswords
• Two female humans and one male half-elf dressed in plain clothes (servants of wealthy North Ward families, killed while running errands)
• One male gnome (Dalakhar) wearing a burned cloak and clutching a dagger
• Two female halflings who were playing a flute and a fiddle, and two male halflings who were dancing

The characters have only a few minutes to search the crime scene before members of the City Guard arrive. After that, they aren’t allowed anywhere near the bodies, although invisible and similarly hidden characters can search the crime scene further. A search of the bodies accompanied by a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals the following:

• One of the dead male humans has a black, winged snake (the symbol of the Black Network) tattooed on his right forearm.
• The dead gnome has dry waste on his boots and cloak, suggesting he has spent time in the sewers recently. He also has a pouch containing five 100 gp gemstones.

A character can try to snatch Dalakhar’s pouch without being seen by NPC onlookers, doing so with a successful DC 13 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. On a failed check, the character still acquires the pouch, but someone observes the theft and reports it to City Watch constables once they show up (see “The Watch Arrives” below). This witness to the theft can be silenced with a bribe of 50 gp or more.

After the Blast

The characters have a few minutes to examine the crime scene before the City Guard arrives and cordons off Trollskull Alley, posting six guard at each entrance. The guards don’t allow anyone in or out without permission from a superior officer. Another six guard, including a sergeant with 18 hit points, make their way to the crime scene and watch over the dead bodies until the City Watch arrives. Lingering smoke from the fireball also attracts a Griffon Cavalry rider (see appendix B). As its griffon mount circles the neighborhood, the rider watches the streets and alleys for suspicious figures.

The Watch Arrives

Twenty minutes after the explosion, a City Watch sergeant named Saeth Cromley (see appendix B) escorts a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors named Barnibus Blastwind (see appendix B) to the crime scene. Barnibus quietly takes charge of the investigation at that point, while Sergeant Cromley directs a force of twenty constables (veteran) to knock on doors and question locals.

Before allowing the corpses to be removed and taken to local temples, Barnibus inspects the scene closely and reaches the following conclusions, which he prefers to keep to himself but might share with other members of the Watchful Order:

• The gnome was running from armed pursuers, of which there were three. The third person who was chasing the gnome isn’t among the dead.
• The gnome and his pursuers were moving toward the tavern in Trollskull Alley (which Barnibus will soon come to realize is the characters' property).
• Neither the gnome nor his pursuers saw the blast coming.

Given these findings, Barnibus decides to question the tavern’s owners and occupants, with Sergeant Cromley by his side as a witness and bodyguard. Specifically, Barnibus wants to find out the gnome’s identity and whether he was known to anyone. The characters, having never met Dalakhar, have little information to offer unless they decide to lie.

Neither Barnibus nor Sergeant Cromley is quick to jump to conclusions. They both prefer to have ironclad evidence and testimony from reliable witnesses before making any arrests. Even though the characters are suspects by virtue of their proximity to the crime scene, it hardly seems plausible that they would unleash destructive magic so close to their place of business in broad daylight. Consequently, Barnibus intends not to take up too much of their time.

Barnibus and Sergeant Cromley refuse requests by characters to join the investigation. “That would introduce too many new variables into an already confounding equation,” replies Barnibus with a frown. “Trust in the Watch,” Cromley adds dismissively. Characters who seem truthful and honest can press Barnibus for further information by making a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a success, they nudge Barnibus into revealing what he has discovered, as outlined above.

Eyewitnesses

Many other people witnessed the fireball without being caught in the blast. Three of them have important information to share. Any character who spends at least 1 minute talking to one of them learns what that person saw or heard. (No ability checks are required, since the eyewitnesses are eager to talk.)

Fala Lefaliir

Fala Lefaliir, the owner of Corellon’s Crown (see chapter 2, area T4), relates the following information:

“I was watering plants in the greenhouse on the second floor of my shop when the blast blew out some of the windows. Lucky I wasn’t injured! Through the smoke, I saw a cloaked man take something from the body of a dead gnome, then start limping away. He was badly burned and casting glances over his shoulder, like he was afraid someone might be following him. He was headed toward the Bent Nail.”

Fala saw Urstul Floxin fleeing the scene with the Stone of Golorr in his clutches. He circled around the Bent Nail (see chapter 2, area T2) on his way out of Trollskull Alley.

Jezrynne Hornraven

A Waterdavian born of wealth and privilege, Jezrynne was leaving the Tiger’s Eye (see chapter 2, area T5), having just hired Vincent Trench to spy on her philandering husband, when she witnessed the following:

“I tell you, it was not a man. More like a puppet shaped like a man. A puppet without strings. It was on the rooftop. It hurled something into the crowd below that caused the explosion. I saw those halflings burned alive! I saw them!”

Jezrynne doesn’t know what the “puppet” hurled to cause the fireball. She took her eyes off the thing during the chaos and doesn’t know where it went.

Martem Trec

This 12-year-old boy watched as his halfling friends perished in the flames. He didn’t see much beyond that, but he found something important after the blast went off:

“Right after the explosion, I ducked behind a rain barrel. Then I heard a ‘plop’ and found this in the barrel.”

Martem produces a necklace of fireballs with two beads remaining and a broken clasp. As it fled across a rooftop, the nimblewright accidentally yanked on the necklace, which came off, fell to the roof, slid off the edge, and plopped into the rain barrel next to Martem.

He doesn’t know what to make of this object but was planning to keep it. A character can snatch it from him or convince Martem to relinquish it with a successful DC 8 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check.

Characters who withhold the necklace, and knowledge of it, from the City Watch are guilty of a crime in Waterdeep. Hampering justice by concealing evidence can result in a fine of up to 200 gp and hard labor for up to a tenday.

Speaking with the Victims

The dead are taken to a City Watch station in the North Ward and kept in a cellar morgue. Clerics from local temples are brought in to cast gentle repose spells on the corpses, to preserve them while the investigation is ongoing. Any character who has a renown of 1 or higher in Force Grey (the Gray Hands), the Harpers, the Lords' Alliance, the Order of the Gauntlet, or the Zhentarim can petition their faction representative to hire a cleric to cast speak with dead on one or more of the fatalities.

The characters can hire a cleric themselves by making a donation of at least 25 gp to the cleric’s temple for each casting of the spell. They must also provide a list of questions they want answered.

A speak with dead spell can pry some or all of the following information from Dalakhar’s corpse if the right questions are asked:

• Dalakhar stole an artifact called the Stone of Golorr from the lair of a beholder known as Xanathar, in a dungeon deep below the city.
• Dalakhar worked for the Open Lord of Waterdeep. (Here he refers to Lord Dagult Neverember, whom he believes is the rightful Open Lord, not Laeral Silverhand.)
• The Stone of Golorr is the key to finding a hoard of dragons hidden in the city.
• Dalakhar heard about a group of adventurers who rescued Lord Neverember’s son from the Zhentarim and thought the Stone of Golorr would be safe in their hands for the time being. He was on his way to deliver it to them, planning to come back and reclaim it after he had eluded his pursuers. Then the fireball went off.

The following information can be learned by casting speak with dead on one or both of the dead Zhentarim sellswords:

• Their names were Bashekk Ortallis and Wern Malkrave. They worked for Urstul Floxin and resided at Gralhund Villa.
• Their job was to help catch a gnome named Dalakhar.
• Dalakhar had some kind of artifact in his possession which, according to Urstul Floxin, would make them as rich as kings.

Nim’s Secret

Characters who question Jezrynne Hornraven (see “Eyewitnesses” above) can get a description of the creature that set off the fireball. It bears a striking similarity to the automatons that sometimes march in the Day of Wonders parade, as anyone who has lived in Waterdeep during the fall season knows. Because the Day of Wonders parade is sponsored by the local temple of Gond, characters might want to visit the temple and investigate a possible connection.

House of Inspired Hands

The House of Inspired Hands, Waterdeep’s temple of Gond, sits on the corner of Seawatch Street and Shark Street in the Sea Ward. If the characters visit the temple, they see the following:

The House of Inspired Hands looks like a cross between a temple and a workshop. The symbol of Gond, a toothed cog with four spokes, is displayed prominently. You see the silhouette of a humanoid shape perching on the rooftop. It extends an arm, releasing a tiny metal sparrow into the sky. The bird does a few loops in the air, then veers right toward you.

The creature atop the temple is Nim, a nimblewright (see appendix B). Nim was given to the temple as a gift from a visiting Lantanese wizard and has been creating its own inventions on the sly. One of those inventions was the nimblewright that detonated the fireball in Trollskull Alley. Another less-dangerous invention, a mechanical sparrow, is on an accidental collision course with the party.

Have the characters roll initiative. Nim’s mechanical bird acts on initiative count 10, has a flying speed of 60 feet, and starts 60 feet away from the characters. It has AC 15, 1 hit point, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. On its turn, it flies toward one party member at random and makes a melee weapon attack (+0 to hit) against that character. On a hit, the bird deals 2 (1d3) piercing damage as it slams into the character with surprising force. On a miss, it crashes. Either way, it’s destroyed on impact.

After the attack, Nim withdraws into the temple’s attic through a secret hatch in the roof and lies low, hoping the characters don’t report the incident to the temple’s acolytes.

Inside the Temple

The temple of Gond is open and abuzz with activity during daylight hours, then closes from sunset until sunrise. At night, acolytes retire to their private quarters to work on pet projects.

Hall of Exemplary Inventions

The main hall of the temple holds two dozen marble pedestals. Each one bears a prize-winning invention or a miniature model of some other extraordinary creation. Among the displays are several that stand out:

• A 4-foot-tall working model of a clock tower rings at the top of every hour. It is made of wood, iron, bronze, and glass, with brass bells and delicate hands formed from solid gold.
• A wooden flying machine has wings that flap when it becomes airborne.
• A miniature model of a mechanical dragon turtle has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “Big Belchy. Sank in Deepwater Harbor on the Day of Wonders in 1363 DR.”
• A functional “waking helmet” equipped with small, articulated metal arms and hands that gently slap the wearer if he or she falls asleep.
• A miniature model of a red submarine shaped like a manta ray has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “The Scarlet Marpenoth. Lantanese submersible. Launched in 1489 DR.”

Meeting Valetta

The characters are met by Valetta, a dragonborn priest of bronze dragon ancestry, with these changes:

• Valetta is neutral.
• She has these racial traits: She can use her action to exhale a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot line of lightning (but can’t do this again until she finishes a short or long rest); each creature in the line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. She has resistance to lightning damage. She speaks Common and Draconic.

If the characters mention the figure they saw on the roof of the temple, Valetta identifies it as Nim, a nimblewright that was gifted to the temple by a Lantanese wizard. If they describe the incident involving the mechanical bird, Valetta sighs and leads them up a spiral staircase to an attic that Nim uses as a lair-only to find the attic’s door fitted with a new lock. Valetta doesn’t recognize the lock or have a key to open it, but a character using thieves' tools can pick the lock with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. A knock spell or similar magic also opens the door. Valetta won’t allow characters to break down the door, but she does permit them to speak to Nim through the door. A character can persuade Nim to unlock the door with a successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Valetta grants advantage on the roll by strongly urging Nim to comply.

Meeting Nim

Nim understands Common but can’t speak. It has developed a simple sign language that Valetta and other members of the temple staff understand. After the incident with the bird, Nim hides amid the clutter in its lair, but it emerges if the characters find their way inside or coax it into unlocking the door. If the characters ask about the other nimblewright, Nim admits (through gesturing to Valetta) that it built the other nimblewright to ease its loneliness. But then Nim’s creation fled in confused terror a month ago, and Nim hasn’t seen it since. In light of this revelation, Valetta angrily orders acolytes to remove Nim’s tools and unfinished inventions from the attic, while she forces Nim to look on.

Nimblewright Detector

Characters who search Nim’s attic or watch the area as it’s being cleaned out can find a 1-foot-long copper contraption with an umbrella-like metallic protrusion at one end. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of divination magic around it. If asked about it, Nim tells Valetta that it built this device to find the errant nimblewright and tried to seek it out, only to discover that Nim couldn’t leave the temple grounds. Once Nim explains how the nimblewright detector works, Valetta allows the characters to take it. To activate the nimblewright detector, a character must hold down its trigger. When the activated device comes within 500 feet of a nimblewright other than Nim, the umbrella begins to spin, whir, and click. The spinning, whirring, and clicking accelerates as the distance to the target lessens, reaching maximum velocity and volume when a nimblewright other than Nim is within 30 feet of the device.

Reward

If the characters want to track down the wayward nimblewright themselves, Valetta says that the House of Inspired Hands will pay them 500 gp to destroy it. If they return with proof of its destruction, Valetta sees that they receive the promised reward and also offers them one each of the following nonmagical inventions:

Adjustable Stilts

The stilts take 1 minute to put on or remove. They increase the height of any humanoid wearing them by 2 to 5 feet. Each stilt weighs 8 pounds and is 1 foot long when fully collapsed.

Backpack Parachute

A humanoid wearing this piece of gear can deploy the parachute as a reaction while falling, or as an action otherwise. The parachute requires at least a 10-foot cube of unoccupied space in which to deploy, and it doesn’t open fast enough to slow a fall of less than 60 feet. If it has sufficient time and space to deploy properly, the parachute allows its wearer to land without taking falling damage. Once it has been used, the parachute takes 10 minutes to repack.

Barking Box

This metal cube, 6 inches on a side, has a crank on top. Using an action to wind the crank activates the box for 8 hours. While activated, the box barks whenever it detects vibrations within 15 feet of it, as long as the box and the source of the vibrations are in contact with the same ground or substance. A switch on one side of the box sets the device to emit either a small dog’s bark or a large dog’s bark.

Matchless Pipe

A switch made of flint is built into the bowl of this fine wooden smoking pipe. With a few flicks of the switch, the pipe lights itself.

Finding Nim’s Creation

Equipped with the nimblewright detector, the characters can search for Nim’s escaped creation. A ward-by-ward search is the best approach, but let the players tell you how their characters conduct the search. Depending on where they go, the search could take days.

A character mounted on a griffon can complete a city-wide search in a couple of hours. To secure the use of a griffon, a character must either be a member of the Order of the Gauntlet on good terms with Savra Belabranta or a member of the Lords' Alliance on good terms with Jalester Silvermane. As it happens, a young griffon named Bonesnapper is being trained to serve as a mount in the Griffon Cavalry. If Savra or Jalester is inclined to help the party, the characters can arrange to meet the griffon and its trainer outside the River Gate the following morning shortly after dawn. (The griffon and its trainer normally reside in Peaktop Aerie atop Mount Waterdeep, but most civilians aren’t welcome there.) To gain Bonesnapper’s trust, a character must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. The griffon won’t allow any character who fails the check to ride it.

Nim’s errant nimblewright is in Gralhund Villa on Saerdoun Street, in the North Ward. It isn’t, however, the only nimblewright to be found outside the House of Inspired Hands. If the characters decide to search the Dock Ward, the nimblewright detector starts to whir when it comes within range of a couple of the ships in port.

Dock Ward Distraction

Zardoz Zord, owner of the Sea Maidens Faire, has brought his three ships to Waterdeep. Two of these galleons, the Heartbreaker and the Hellraiser, are docked. Zord’s flagship, the Eyecatcher, is anchored in Deepwater Harbor. Each of the three ships (described in chapter 7) has at least one nimblewright aboard.

The docks are bustling and chaotic during the day, except in winter. At night, darkness provides sufficient cover for characters to approach the docked vessels unseen. If one or more characters are caught aboard a ship, the crew tries to corner them until the ship’s captain can have words with them. The nimblewrights, they say, are “attractions and nothing more.” If the characters ask to speak to the owner of the fleet, a sending spell is used to contact Zord, who invites the characters to dine with him aboard the Eyecatcher.

Dining with Zardoz Zord

Characters who accept Zord’s offer are shuttled by dinghy to his flagship, welcomed aboard by drow crew members magically disguised as attractive humans (see chapter 7 for more information), and led to the captain’s dining cabin (area J10):

The dining cabin is bedecked with golden filigree, the purple curtains festooned with silken tassels, the wood paneling scented with perfume. A magnificent feast laid out on golden platters sprawls atop a mahogany table of exquisite craftsmanship. Even the doilies are something to behold. Standing behind it all with wine glass in hand is a well-built, scantily clad man, his scarlet apparel designed to accentuate his trim figure and bountiful chest hair. A flashy rapier hangs from his stylish belt.

“Welcome aboard the Eyecatcher,” he says, flashing his pearly white teeth. “Zardoz Zord, at your service.”

This dashing figure is none other than Jarlaxle Baenre (see appendix B) magically disguised as Zardoz Zord.

The characters have piqued Jarlaxle’s curiosity. He doesn’t know much about them (yet) and wants to determine whether they pose a threat (they don’t). To win them over, he shares the following information over dinner and wine:

• The Sea Maidens Faire, owned and operated by Zord, is a seafaring carnival based in Luskan that travels along the Sword Coast. It provides good, wholesome entertainment in the form of fantastic street parades.
• The Heartbreaker and the Hellraiser are used to transport entertainers, wagon, and parade floats. The Eyecatcher is Zord’s command ship and private yacht. All three ships are built for comfort and speed.
• Zord visits the distant island of Lantan about once a year. During his last visit, he purchased four nimblewrights from a Lantanese wizard. He keeps two aboard his flagship, and one aboard each of the other two vessels.
• When they’re not marching in a parade, Zord’s nimblewrights remain aboard his ships. “They’re perfectly harmless,” he attests, whereupon a nimblewright holding a decanter enters the dining cabin and quietly refills everyone’s wine glasses.

If the characters mention the Stone of Golorr, Zord shrugs his shoulders in a manner that suggests he doesn’t know what they’re talking about. He also feigns disinterest in Waterdeep politics, saying, “Every city has problems, I suppose. My job as an entertainer is to make people forget about politics for a while.” Characters who are suspicious of Zord can make a DC 24 Wisdom (Insight) check. Any character who succeeds on the check senses that there’s much more to him than meets the eye.

Jarlaxle owns a hat of disguise but doesn’t need it to hide his true form while he’s aboard any of his ships. His disguise (and the disguises of his drow subordinates) can be dispelled only by destroying the ship’s figurehead (see chapter 7). If the characters somehow discern his true form, Jarlaxle gives the party a slow nod of his head, dryly says “Bravo!” and lets them make the next move.

When dinner is concluded, Zord bids the characters farewell and sees that they are escorted safely back to the docks.

Drow Characters

If the adventuring party includes one or more drow characters, Captain Zord pays close attention to what they do and say, but doesn’t treat them any differently from the other party members.

What Renaer Knows

At some point during their investigation, the characters might want to speak to Renaer Neverember about the fireball, given his own recent brush with the Zhentarim. Conversely, he could decide to pay them a visit at their tavern. If he’s told that a gnome and two Zhents were killed in the blast, Renaer drops a bombshell:

“When the Lords of Waterdeep ousted my father, I thought his long, dark shadow was finally gone for good. The truth is, I want nothing to do with him. But his spies hound me. One of them, a gnome named Dalakhar, had been watching me for months. Then, about two tendays ago, the spy was suddenly nowhere to be seen. My father didn’t trust many people, but he trusted that gnome.”

“I spoke to a few of Dalakhar’s friends. Apparently, he was on a special mission to retrieve the Stone of Golorr and was afraid that the Zhentarim and the Xanathar Guild were close to catching him. When he heard about my kidnapping, he wanted more information about the adventurers who had rescued me. I think Dalakhar was planning to pay you to deliver the Stone of Golorr to my father in Neverwinter.”

Any attempt to follow up with Dalakhar’s friends proves futile, since they have gone into hiding in the wake of the gnome’s sudden demise.

If the characters tell Renaer that Fala Lefaliir saw a man fleeing Trollskull Alley (see “Eyewitnesses”), Renaer reaches out to his friends in the Harpers. A day later, he returns with the following information:

• The man Fala saw matches the description of Urstul Floxin, a suspected member of the Black Network.
• Another North Ward resident claims he saw Urstul enter Gralhund Villa, in the North Ward, shortly after the fireball incident. The resident reported him to the City Watch because Urstul looked suspicious.
• Two City Watch constables spoke to Lord Gralhund. He assured them that no one had broken into the estate and that everything was fine. The constables had no grounds to get a search warrant, so they didn’t pursue the matter.

Gralhund Villa

After fleeing Trollskull Alley with the Stone of Golorr in his clutches, the Zhent assassin Urstul Floxin returned to Gralhund Villa to confront Yalah Gralhund about sending the nimblewright to meddle in his mission. Lady Gralhund decides she no longer likes Urstul and, taking advantage of his injuries, wrests the Stone of Golorr from him at swordpoint and orders her guards to lock him up until she decides what to do with him.

Your choice of main villain determines Lady Gralhund’s motivation, which is a secret held by her and Hrabbaz, her loyal half-orc bodyguard:

• If Xanathar is the main villain, Yalah Gralhund has secretly cut a deal with the beholder crime lord, offering to return the Stone of Golorr to it if the beholder helps her create a vacancy on the council of Masked Lords.
• If the Cassalanters are the main villains, Yalah is a fawning member of their Asmodeus-worshiping cult and intends to deliver the Stone of Golorr to them as a demonstration of her fealty and friendship.
• If Jarlaxle is the main villain, he and Yalah are secret lovers. He has promised to facilitate her rise in power after he uses Lord Neverember’s lost hoard to buy Luskan’s way into the Lords' Alliance.
• If Manshoon is the main villain, he promised not to destroy Yalah’s family if she allowed her villa to be used as a staging area for his secret plots. Believing that Urstul Floxin is after the gold for himself, Yalah plans to cut Urstul out of the deal and deliver the Stone of Golorr to Manshoon herself.

Having gravely misjudged and underestimated Lady Gralhund once, Urstul isn’t about to do so again. Rallying despite his injuries, he manages to kill the two inattentive Gralhund guards who were watching over him and alert the other Zhents on the estate, who begin dispatching the other guards and servants. Urstul’s goal is to capture Lord or Lady Gralhund, force the surrender of the Stone of Golorr, and deliver it to his master Manshoon in Kolat Towers (described in chapter 8).

Urstul’s plans-unbeknownst to him-are dashed when Lady Gralhund orders her nimblewright to take the Stone of Golorr elsewhere. Amid the chaos, the nimblewright flees the estate.

Should They or Shouldn’t They?

The characters must proceed carefully, since they have no evidence that directly implicates the Gralhunds in the attack in Trollskull Alley. Their two basic choices are to share what they know with the City Watch or to visit Gralhund Villa themselves.

Let the Watch Handle It

The characters can go to any City Watch station in the North Ward and report what they have learned to the constables there. Shortly thereafter, the characters receive a visit from Barnibus Blastwind and Saeth Cromley (see appendix B), who have no reason to suspect the characters are lying. Their own investigation corroborates much of what the characters said. Barnibus concludes the meeting by saying, rather brusquely, “Thank you for the information.” Cromley adds, “Rest assured, we’ll have this case resolved in no time.”

A magistrate provides the City Watch with a warrant to search Gralhund Villa. Sometime afterward, Cromley visits the characters by himself and, as a courtesy, tells them what happened:

• Officers arrived to find Lord Gralhund unconscious, Lady Gralhund in shock, and their half-orc bodyguard bloodied but unbowed.
• Apparently, the Gralhunds had been held hostage for more than a tenday by agents of the Black Network. Most of the Zhents were killed during a bloody revolt led by Lord Gralhund himself.
• The Zhent leader, Urstul Floxin, was among those who got away. He’s still at large. The Watch plans to step up its search for him.
• Of the nimblewright, there was no sign. According to the Gralhunds, the construct was delivered to Gralhund Villa weeks earlier. The family took it in, not realizing it was a Zhentarim spy. Lady Gralhund reported that it stole her necklace of fireballs.

Cromley’s summary of events is based on information given to the City Watch by the Gralhunds and is riddled with falsehoods. The hostage situation, Lord Gralhund’s heroism, and the theft of Lady Gralhund’s necklace of fireballs never happened. The nimblewright’s affiliation with the Zhentarim is also a lie. The Gralhunds' account further doesn’t explain why the nimblewright would use the necklace of fireballs to inflict harm on the Zhents if it was working with them. If characters raise that question, Cromley thinks for a moment and then ventures the guess that the nimblewright underestimated the necklace’s explosive power.

Investigate the Villa

The characters can insert themselves into Gralhund Villa and accost its residents with impunity if they’re careful to pin the violence on the Zhents or if they’re able to enter and leave unseen before the City Watch shows up to arrest everyone.

Sneaking in or out of the villa without being seen or heard by neighbors and passersby requires each character to succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. A character who has proficiency in the Stealth skill can take disadvantage on the check to grant advantage on another party member’s check (essentially compensating for a less stealthy companion).

If the characters side with the Gralhunds in the conflict, Lady Gralhund is inclined to overlook their trespass. Her demeanor sours, however, if they start asking too many questions. She vigorously denies accusations that her family is involved with the Black Network and claims the Zhents were holding her family hostage (a false claim also parroted by her husband, her bodyguard, her children, and her staff). If the characters assault any member of the household or brandish weapons in an attempt to intimidate, the Gralhunds inform the City Watch of the party’s crimes.

During the characters' invasion of Gralhund Villa, the nimblewright flees the estate with the Stone of Golorr (see chapter 4 for more information on its destination). If the characters are using Nim’s nimblewright detector to track the nimblewright, the device lets them know that the nimblewright has fled the scene, but not the direction it went.

Overview

Gralhund Villa sits in the middle of an upper-class residential neighborhood in the North Ward. Here are some general facts to keep in mind:

• The streets around the villa have pedestrians and coaches traveling along them at all hours, though traffic is heavier during the day.
• The estate is enclosed by 12-foot-high stone walls that require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to negotiate without the aid of climbing gear or magic.
• Neighbors and bystanders alert the City Watch if they hear loud, disturbing noises (such as a thunderwave spell) coming from the estate or if they see anything suspicious. The Watch sends a mage and six veteran (one sergeant and five constables) to investigate, and it takes 1d6 + 4 minutes for this force to arrive.
• All ceilings in the mansion are 20 feet high.

Encounters in the Villa

The following encounter locations, keyed to map 3.1, describe the Gralhund estate as it stands when the characters first arrive. The Zhents have taken over the downstairs level of the mansion; the Gralhunds are fighting to hold the upstairs.

G1. Locked Gates

Through a set of ornate iron gates, the characters can see a yard with several large trees, as well as two footpaths that lead to a two-story brick mansion and eastward toward a detached coach house.

An arcane lock spell is cast on the gates. Forcing them open requires a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check, while picking the lock requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. The spell doesn’t bar members of the Gralhund family, their staff, their guards, or Lady Gralhund’s nimblewright from opening the gates.

G2. Yard

The estate is well tended. In spring and summer, large trees provide shade. The trees begin shedding leaves in the fall. By winter, their branches are stripped bare.

Balcony

Through the trees, the characters can see a large balcony (area G17) enclosed by an iron railing above the mansion’s main entrance. The balcony is 20 feet above ground level, and scaling the mansion’s brick walls to reach it without the aid of climbing gear or magic requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Evil Groundskeeper

The yard is looked after by a menacing groundskeeper named Hurv Taldred (LE male Illuskan cult fanatic) and his two quiet mastiff. The Gralhunds paid a necromancer to perform a ritual on Hurv and his mastiffs. After sundown, the physical forms of these figures melt away, and they become three shadow until dawn. Characters who succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity (Stealth) check can cross the yard without being detected. Otherwise, Hurv and his hounds detect the characters and attack, day or night.

G3. Coach House

This stone building contains a beautifully maintained coach and clean stables that house four draft horse and Lady Gralhund’s jet-black riding horse, named Maladar. A sliding wooden door bars access to the street and has a padlock on the outside that holds it shut. Picking the lock requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

The larger room north of the stables contains tack and harness for each horse, as well as bales of hay and yard tools. The smaller room in the northwest corner has two cots: one for the groundskeeper, Hurv (see area G2), who sleeps during the day, and one for a stableboy named Ike (commoner), who sleeps here at night. Ike is away (either picking up food for the horses or out drinking with friends) if the characters arrive during the day.

Treasure

Lady Gralhund’s horse is outfitted with horseshoes of speed and two saddlebags, each of which holds four 5-pound gold trade bars worth 250 gp each.

G4. Guard Barracks

This one-story stone building attached to the mansion serves as quarters for twenty house guards. The main room contains ten bunk beds. Each comes with a pair of footlockers containing folded clothes and worthless personal effects.

The room in the northwest corner contains wooden mannequins and racks designed to hold armor and weapons. Since there are no guards present, the mannequins and racks are bare.

G5. Kitchen

An unlocked wooden door leads from the yard to the mansion’s kitchen, which is stocked with cookware and utensils. A large fireplace is used for cooking meals.

G6. Pantry

This pantry is lined with shelves containing dry foodstuffs, spices, folded tablecloths, and jars of preserves. Casks of fresh water, ale, and wine are also stored here.

Barred Door

A back door leads out to the street. This sturdy wooden door is barred shut on the inside. Forcing it open from the outside requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check and makes a lot of noise.

Corpses

The Zhents have killed two servants, an older male human (the head butler) and a younger male halfling (a cook), and left their bodies on the floor.

G7. Laundry Room

This room is where servants wash clothing. It contains scrub buckets, wash basins, soap, mops, and chamber pots.

Corpses

The Zhents have killed a servant, a middle-aged female human (the head maid), and left her body on the stairs leading up to the servants' quarters (area G19). The maid has a ring of keys on her belt that opens all the locked doors in the mansion as well as the cabinets in area G8.

G8. Great Hall

Characters who enter this hall for the first time notice the following:

• The floor is strewn with bodies. Two thug holding bloody maces stand over them.
• The sound of fighting can be heard coming from the top of a wide staircase in the northwest corner (see area G13).
• Two iron chandeliers hang from the dark mahogany ceiling above a long dining table carved from red larchwood. Chairs surround the table, with a particularly tall and elaborate chair at each end.
• Lining the wood-paneled walls are tapestries and locked wooden cabinets that contain fine dishes, silverware, and candlesticks.
• A fireplace with a black marble mantelpiece has a framed family portrait mounted above it. (The portrait depicts Lord and Lady Gralhund, their three young children, and a family dog that died three years ago.)

Corpses

Lying about the room are the bodies of eight guards wearing bloody and tattered House Gralhund livery over their chain shirts, as well as two dead Zhents in black leather armor. All are humans.

Thugs

The two figures with maces are Zhents clad in black leather armor. Their orders are to hold the room. They attack strangers, including members of the City Watch, on sight. They carry no treasure.

G9. Parlor

Urstul Floxin was confined here when he returned to the villa, but shortly thereafter he killed his guards and escaped. The room is furnished for comfort and contains dainty chairs, a chaise longue, a wine cabinet, and framed paintings of various long-dead members of the Gralhund family.

Corpses

The bodies of the two guards lie atop bloodsoaked rugs. The guards wear chain shirts and the livery of House Gralhund.

G10. Den and Trophy Room

Lord Gralhund’s den has the heads of various beasts mounted on the walls and gleaming suits of armor standing at attention in the corners. Bearskin rugs and overstuffed chairs fill the room.

Lord Gralhund recently took up falconry as a hobby. In the middle of the room, resting on a table, is a cage containing a hooded falcon (use hawk statistics).

G11. Orond’s Study

The door to this room is locked. The lock can be picked by a character who makes a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. The room has these features:

• A 10-foot-square canvas wrestling mat is sprawled on the floor in the middle of the room.
• Velvet armchairs, small statues of naked men on pedestals, and tall mahogany bookshelves are arranged neatly around the room.
• A mahogany desk in one corner doesn’t look like it sees much use.

Books

Most of the books are fake boxes made of painted cardboard. A few have bawdy drawings and salacious poems hidden inside them.

G12. Family Library

The wood-paneled library includes these features:

• Tall bookshelves are packed with tomes. Sliding wooden ladders mounted on rails allow easy access to higher shelves.
• In one corner stands an iron lectern with a closed, locked, leather-bound tome resting on it.
• Two padded chairs face a large fireplace. One has a wolf skin draped over it.

Books

Many of the books were handed down to Lady Gralhund by her parents, and they are well kept. They include historical texts, play scripts, novels, and poetry collections.

Locked Tome

Although it looks like it might be a spellbook, the tome on the lectern is a chronicle of the Gralhund family’s accomplishments, embellished or recast to paint the family in the most favorable light. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of abjuration magic emanating from the tome.

The tome is meant to be unlocked using a key that Lady Gralhund wears on a chain around her neck. The lock can be picked by a character who succeeds on a DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, or it can be opened with a knock spell or similar magic. Opening the book by any means other than using the proper key causes three specter to appear within 10 feet of the book and attack its opener. The magic that binds the specters has weakened over time; they can exist on the Material Plane for only 1 minute, after which time they are banished to the Ethereal Plane (unless destroyed first). The specters manifest as ghostly tieflings with elongated fingers.

The Gralhund family crest appears on the book’s title page. The rest of the book is written in Common and describes births, deaths, and other family events between 1239 DR, the Year of the Bloodied Sword, and 1422 DR, the Year of Advancing Shadows. Of particular note is the little-known fact that the Gralhunds forged pacts with devils in years past, giving rise to a strain of tieflings. All such members of the house were sent to live on a Gralhund estate in Yartar, a city far to the north (or so the book claims in its epilogue), and there are passing references to some Waterdavian family members having been born with tails.

G13. Upstairs Foyer

A lot is happening in this elegant foyer:

• A battle rages between several Zhents and house guards, and the floor is strewn with dead bodies.
• Doors to the master bedroom (area G16) stand open. (If Lady Gralhund is in the master bedroom, she shouts, “The City Watch is on the way!")
• The door to area G15a is ajar. Beyond it, characters can hear someone putting a boot to another door.

Corpses

Lying on the floor are the corpses and weapons of six guards wearing House Gralhund livery over chain shirts and two Zhents in black leather armor.

Fight in Progress

Four veteran of House Gralhund (each with 30 hit points remaining) are fighting off an attacking force of Zhents consisting of three thug (each with 20 hit points remaining). The Zhents are trying to get to area G16, but the guards are blocking them.

If the characters do nothing to affect the outcome of this fight, assume that it ends with three House Gralhund veterans still alive and all the Zhents dead.

G14. Ballroom

The door to this room is locked. A character using thieves' tools can pick the lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. The ballroom is unoccupied and contains the following features:

• Gilded mirrors, tasseled tapestries, and stained-glass lamps festoon the walls. Mounted above a fireplace is a stag’s head made of blown glass.
• The veined marble floor is polished to a mirror-like sheen.
• Tacky crystal chandeliers dangle from the ceiling, which has a mural depicting an orgy painted on it.

G15. Guest Suite

Until recently, this suite was set aside for the use of Urstul Floxin. Lord Gralhund has barricaded himself in area G15b, using heavy furniture to block the door. Forcing it open requires a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.

The characters encounter Urstul Floxin (see appendix B) in area G15a. Urstul is wounded with 50 hit points remaining and has no poison coating his weapons, reducing his challenge rating to 3 (700 XP). He’s trying to kick open the door to area G15b in a desperate attempt to capture Lord Gralhund and trade him for the Stone of Golorr. If he is accosted before reaching Lord Gralhund, Urstul tries to flee the villa and uses any other surviving Zhents to cover his escape. He knows the same information that Lord Gralhund does (see “Orond Gralhund” below) but won’t divulge it or the name of his master, Manshoon, unless he’s magically compelled to do so.

Area G15a is a bathroom. A curtain to the east has been drawn back, revealing a claw-footed bathtub.

Area G15b is a wood-paneled bedchamber with a birdcage on a table and a permanent teleportation circle inscribed on the floor. The birdcage contains three flying snake that Urstul uses to deliver messages to his spies throughout the city. The circle is used by Manshoon to meet secretly with Urstul Floxin and to teleport Zhents to and from Kolat Towers (see chapter 8). See the teleportation circle spell description in the Player’s Handbook for more information on how the circle functions.

Orond Gralhund

Having blocked the bedroom door with a wardrobe, a desk, and an overstuffed chair, Orond Gralhund (see appendix B) cowers behind a bed in the southwest corner of area G15b. Although he’s armed with a rapier, Orond throws himself at the mercy of the first person to bust through his barricade.

Characters who have Lord Gralhund at their mercy can pry the following information from him with a successful DC 10 Charisma (Intimidation) check, but the check is made with disadvantage if Lord Gralhund has reason to believe his wife can see or overhear the conversation:

• “The Stone of Golorr is some kind of ancient creature transformed into an artifact. It knows the location of a hidden vault in Waterdeep containing half a million dragons.”
• “House Gralhund has been bankrolling Black Network operations in Waterdeep, including the plot to kidnap Renaer Neverember and the plot to steal the Stone of Golorr from his father’s gnome spy, Dalakhar.”
• “My wife was frustrated with the Zhents and their inability to secure the artifact. She gave a necklace of fireballs to her mechanical servant and sent it out to help retrieve the stone. It was careless and caught the Zhents in the fireball by mistake.”

G16. Master Bedroom

The doors to this room have been thrown open. The room contains the following occupants and features:

• Yalah Gralhund, wearing a breastplate and armed with a rapier, stands next to her well-dressed half-orc bodyguard, Hrabbaz (see appendix B for their statistics).
• A locked wooden trunk rests at the foot of a large, canopied bed in the southwest corner.
• A claw-footed bathtub sits in the northwest alcove near a freestanding mirror and a privacy screen.
• Hanging above a fireplace in the southeast corner is a shield that bears the Gralhund coat of arms. Logs are stacked neatly next to the hearth.
• A tall mahogany wardrobe stuffed with expensive gowns and dress clothes stands next to a pair of open glass doors leading out to a balcony.

Yalah Gralhund

Lady Gralhund gave the Stone of Golorr and a map of where to take it to her nimblewright servant, who has left the villa by the time the characters reach this chamber. Its escape is crucial, since it sets into motion the events in chapter 4.

Lady Gralhund and Hrabbaz are the only people who know where the nimblewright has gone, but they feign ignorance when questioned about it.

Yalah Gralhund carries a ring of keys that open all locked doors in the mansion, as well as the locked wooden trunk at the foot of the bed. If her situation turns dire and Hrabbaz is unable to protect her, Yalah unlocks the door to area G18, rushes inside, and locks the door behind her with her next action. She makes her final stand there, with her children cowering behind her.

Wooden Trunk

The lock on the trunk can be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. The trunk appears to contain folded clothes and shoes. A secret compartment in the bottom can be detected by someone who examines the outside of the trunk and makes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. The compartment holds two holy symbols of Asmodeus and two robes, each red and gold in color.

Lord and Lady Gralhund are both secret members of a cult of Asmodeus worshipers popular among select nobles in Waterdeep. The cult is led by Lord Victoro Cassalanter (see appendix B), though the Gralhunds won’t divulge this information willingly.

G17. Balcony

This large balcony is enclosed by an ornate wrought iron railing and has lounge chairs neatly arranged on it. The ground is 20 feet below, and open glass doors lead to the master bedroom (area G16).

G18. Children’s Room

The door to this room is locked. The lock can be picked with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

Three beds line the south wall, and an empty cradle rests against the east wall. Other furnishings include squat wardrobes, play rugs, and children’s desks.

Children

Confined here for their safety are the Gralhunds' two youngest children, a 13-year-old boy named Zartan and a 10-year-old boy named Greth. Both are noncombatants. Their 18-year-old sister, Tomassin, is visiting a tiefling cousin in Yartar.

G19. Servants' Wing

Three rooms in the southeast area of the upper floor are where the servants sleep at night. The head butler and head maid have rooms to themselves, but those places are currently unoccupied. The largest of the three chambers is a common room containing six bunk beds for the junior staff. A total of nine maids, cooks, and valets (commoner) are holed up here, waiting for someone to rescue them. They are armed with improvised weapons (rolling pins, mops, brooms, and the like) that are treated as clubs.

Aftermath

After fleeing Gralhund Villa with the Stone of Golorr, Lady Gralhund’s nimblewright hides the artifact in a secret location in Waterdeep, setting the stage for chapter 4.

Even if the bloody conflict at Gralhund Villa goes unnoticed outside the walls of the estate, the carnage can’t be hidden from the City Watch for long. There are too many murdered servants and guards for anyone to conceal what has transpired. The arrival of the City Watch foreshadows the return of Barnibus Blastwind and Saeth Cromley (see appendix B), who arrive in due course with twenty constables (veteran) and two griffon cavalry rider (see appendix B) astride griffon. The griffons and their riders remain airborne, providing aerial support and reconnaissance.

Barnibus thoroughly investigates the Gralhund Villa crime scene and questions neighbors and bystanders. Characters who are seen leaving the scene become suspects. If the characters killed any members of the Gralhund family and left witnesses or evidence of the act, Barnibus instructs Sergeant Cromley to arrest them for the crime of murdering a noble, which carries a death sentence if they’re found guilty.

Loose Ends

You can use the following optional event to address what happens to the Zhentarim in the aftermath.

Bad Time to Be a Zhent

Within days after the events that local broadsheets dub the “Gralhund Villa Bloodbath,” the City Watch cracks down on the Black Network. Even members of the Zhentarim who have no known criminal ties are rounded up and interrogated, including Davil Starsong (see appendix B). Characters who are members of the faction are safe for the time being, as long as they keep a low profile. Otherwise, they too are rounded up and questioned over a period of several days, until the Lords of Waterdeep ascertain their level of involvement in the violence at Gralhund Villa. The broadsheets jump on the bandwagon by portraying the Black Network in the most unflattering light, thus dealing a crippling blow to the faction’s already questionable reputation.

Encounter with Istrid Horn

This encounter occurs only if the characters were directly involved in the events that transpired at Gralhund Villa. After Davil Starsong is taken in for questioning, Istrid Horn (see appendix B) sends a message to the characters by way of a flying snake. The message, written in Common, reads as follows:

I would like to know more about what happened at Gralhund Villa. If you can spare the time, meet me at Ahghairon’s Statue in the City of the Dead at highsun tomorrow. You’ll be paid generously for your time and trouble.

-Istrid Horn

If the characters attend the meeting, use the following boxed text to help set the scene, embellishing it to reflect the season:

Ahghairon’s Statue is a well-known landmark in the city’s parkland cemetery: a tall, marble sculpture of a bearded, robed wizard standing atop concentric steps and facing west toward the skyline of Waterdeep, his hands outstretched and a broad smile on his face. At the foot of the statue stands a female dwarf clad in plate armor.

If the weather is fair, characters can see pedestrians, picnickers, and frolicking children throughout the cemetery grounds. It’s clear that Istrid chose a safe, public place for the meeting. Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check can tell that she came alone.

Istrid fears being arrested by the City Watch. Although she wasn’t involved in the matters concerning Gralhund Villa, she is worried that the Watch will uncover her illegal currency-lending operation in the course of its investigations. She offers the characters 10 pp just for meeting with her and promises another 40 pp if the characters agree to help her lie low for a tenday-half to be paid once a deal is struck and half at the end of her stay. If they decline her offer and the party includes one or more Zhentarim members, she threatens that if she’s arrested and charged with a crime, she will reveal their affiliation and bring them down with her.

Hiding Istrid

If the characters decide to let Istrid hide out at their tavern, she uses a disguise kit to make herself up to be a male dwarf named Jorn. If asked to do so, she’s willing to perform chores around the place once she settles in. Ultimately, no one comes looking for her, but the longer she stays hidden, the more testy and demanding she becomes.

If the characters tolerate her bad behavior, Istrid leaves at the end of the tenday as promised and pays characters the remainder of what she owes. Characters who are members of the Zhentarim gain an added benefit for harboring Istrid in her time of need: their renown in the faction increases by 2.

If, on the other hand, the characters throw her out or rat her out to the City Watch, Istrid becomes their mortal enemy and tries to undermine them at every turn.

Harming Istrid

As a precaution against being double-crossed, Istrid shared her plan concerning the characters with at least one other member of the Doom Raiders (see appendix B). If the characters betray or harm Istrid, her former adventuring companions use every resource at their disposal to ruin the characters. The laws of Waterdeep discourage them from attacking the characters openly, but they can damage the party’s business by scaring off their clientele, and characters might find themselves the targets of worse if they dare to leave the confines of the city.

Level Advancement

If you’re leveling up characters using story milestones instead of tracking experience points, the characters advance from 3rd to 4th level if they conducted their own investigation into the fireball incident and affected the outcome of events in Gralhund Villa. Otherwise, they are still 3rd level at the start of chapter 4.